{"id":330121,"date":"2024-05-26T20:15:27","date_gmt":"2024-05-26T18:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=330121"},"modified":"2024-05-26T20:15:30","modified_gmt":"2024-05-26T18:15:30","slug":"net-zero-cargo-ships-international-tribunal-for-the-law-of-the-sea-demands-climate-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=330121","title":{"rendered":"Net Zero Cargo Ships? International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Demands Climate Action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by Eric Worrall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet another freedom sapping international treaty committee of unelected apparatchiks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

A new ruling says countries \u2013 including NZ \u2013 must take action on climate change under the law of the sea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published: May 24, 2024 6.13am AEST
Karen Scott<\/a>
Professor in Law, University of Canterbury<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a significant development for small island nations threatened by rising seas, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS<\/a>) has found greenhouse gases constitute marine pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tribunal handed down a unanimous advisory opinion<\/a> this week in its first climate-related judgement. It declared countries must take measures to combat climate change in order to preserve the marine environment under the law of the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some institutions associated with UNCLOS, such as the International Maritime Organization<\/a>, have taken steps to address climate impacts on the ocean. But countries have been reluctant to do so. They have often asserted the primary mandate regarding emissions reductions and climate adaptation lay with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tribunal\u2019s advisory opinion confirmed, for the first time, that the 168 UNCLOS parties must address climate change and ocean acidification in order to comply with their obligations under the law of the sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, ITLOS confirmed that greenhouse gas emissions and the heat generated by a warming climate meet the definition of \u201cpollution\u201d under Article 1(4) of UNCLOS. This is important because under Part XII of UNCLOS, states have obligations to prevent, control and mitigate pollution of the marine environment from any source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, the tribunal confirmed the obligation under Article 194 of UNCLOS to prevent and control pollution applies to greenhouse gas emissions. This includes emissions already accumulated in the atmosphere. States therefore must take all necessary measures to address climate change pollution and ocean acidification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/a-new-ruling-says-countries-including-nz-must-take-action-on-climate-change-under-the-law-of-the-sea-230420<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What can I say? ITLOS have just earned themselves a place on the international treaty bonfire which we all hope will take place out the back of the White House in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day to day impact, at first, is likely to be minimal. Nobody wants an end to shipping, in my opinion this is likely just part of the ongoing Pacific Island shakedown of anyone naive enough to give them handouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If cargo ships actually stopped operating, it would be an unimaginable economic and social disaster for the very island nations which brought the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why bring the case? Pacific Islanders have had centuries of experience playing great powers off against each other, and manipulating international perceptions in ways which result in the islanders receiving money. Islanders are some of the smartest people on the planet, as you quickly learn if you have any islander friends. Thousands of years of brutal inter-island conflicts killed off all the stupid ancestors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You would imagine a new requirement for net zero shipping might resurrect nuclear cargo ships<\/a>, but any suggestion international shipping should go nuclear will be stomped by the very people who claim we need to reduce CO2 emissions. Greens rarely support \u201csolutions\u201d to an issue they claim is a planetary emergency, unless the solutions involve victimhood and embracing global communism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yet another freedom sapping international treaty committee of unelected apparatchiks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":330123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691828791,691818056,691828790,691818154],"class_list":{"0":"post-330121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-cargo-ships","9":"tag-climate-change","10":"tag-international-tribunal-for-the-law-of-the-sea-itlos","11":"tag-net-zero","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/0PFAS-EU-Companies-scaled-1.jpg?fit=2560%2C1440&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1nSx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":278451,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=278451","url_meta":{"origin":330121,"position":0},"title":"Sorry, Guardian and Reuters, Island Nations Have No Climate Case","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Guardian story, \u201cSmall island nations take high-emitting countries to court to protect the ocean,\u201d and Reuters article, \u201cIsland states seek climate protection from Law of the Sea,\u201d are just two of the news stories today covering a case brought by the Commission of Small Island States (COSIS),\u00a0which includes as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate crisis\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate crisis","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-crisis"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0island-countries.jpg?fit=1200%2C685&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0island-countries.jpg?fit=1200%2C685&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0island-countries.jpg?fit=1200%2C685&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0island-countries.jpg?fit=1200%2C685&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0island-countries.jpg?fit=1200%2C685&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":286079,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=286079","url_meta":{"origin":330121,"position":1},"title":"Health & Democracy: Expert Hearing in the EU Parliament – Part 1\/3","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/01\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The WHO - with its worldwide striving for more and more power and higher financial resources - has become a central danger for our democratic basic order. 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